The Adversary
by TeaNSympathy
Summary: Jill is having a hard time with the new Chief of the Criminal Division. Fortunately she has help.
1. Chapter 1

It is not unusual for Jill to be late meeting him after work, but today she is definitely later than she is normally. Roger has read five chapters of his book by the time she arrives at their designated meeting spot. It is also not unusual for Jill to be angry when she meets him after work, but today her level of wrath is clearly elevated beyond what is customary. Two bright pink spots burn on her cheeks and her hands are clenched into fists as though she'd very much like to hit somebody. She gives him a quick kiss as soon as she reaches him so he knows he's not the object of her rage. Fortunately, since leaving the SDNY he rarely is. He doesn't have to wait long to find out.

"Kate Littlejohn!" she growls though gritted teeth as they make their way toward Chambers Street.

"Should I ask?"

"That woman has no heart. None whatsoever. It's completely deceptive – she's got the big blue eyes and Sandra seems to like her and Jay trusts her and I thought there was a human being in there somewhere. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Stone. Cold."

"What happened?"

"It's the art forgery case. We're defending Olivia Fenton."

Roger whistles. "That's going to be a tough defense. That case is all over the news!"

The case has gotten a huge amount of publicity because of all the highly placed people who'd been duped by Olivia Fenton's forgeries. Her imitations of the work of the famed Hudson River School painter Fredric Edwin Church had been good enough to fool a number of art connoisseurs including the Mayor's wife, a Senator, and several famous movie stars into purchasing them. Her brother Caleb, who had been the go-between and been responsible for persuading gallery owners to sell the forgeries, is also being charged in the case.

Jill sighs.

"I know. And it's terrible for Olivia. They're making it look like she's the mastermind, but she's not. She's delusional, Roger. She believes that Church actually works through her and that they're his paintings, not hers."

Roger tries unsuccessfully to keep the skepticism off of his face.

"You're sure she's not just lying to you?"

Jill glares at him.

"Yes, I'm sure! Believe me, I know." She bites her lip. "Josie…Josie believed things like that sometimes. I know mental illness, Roger. She's not lying."

"OK," he says gently. "So what did Littlejohn do?"

"We met today and I explained that Olivia's not responsible! I tried to get her to drop the charges and she completely refused. No compassion whatsoever."

"Compassion is not really her stongest attribute, I have to say. Can you try an insanity defense?"

Jill groans. "I guess we'll have to. But I didn't want to put her through that. She's really fragile, Roger. And if Kate Littlejohn had anything resembling a heart I wouldn't have to."

The train roars into the station and they climb aboard. Not wanting to discuss the case any further on a crowded subway, Roger changes the subject and tells Jill about his uneventful day at the firm and the book he is currently reading,

His workload at the firm, while hefty, is still a bit lighter than it was at the SDNY and he's actually started cooking a bit with the extra time in the evening. Tonight he tries out a new recipe. It has quinoa and kale and spinach (he is always trying to sneak more vegetables into her) and he is surprised and initially delighted when Jill eats it without complaint and without suggesting they order pizza instead. However, he soon realizes from her furrowed brow and faraway gaze that her mind is completely on the case and she probably has no idea what she's eating.

After they clean up she takes her glass of wine into the living room to keep working. He reads for a while and then decided to go to bed. He heads into the living room to see if he can get her to join him and finds her working feverishly away on the sofa, surrounded by papers and files.

"Hey. Ready to call it a night and come to bed?"

She looks up and shakes her head.

"I'm going to keep working for a bit. This insanity defense- I don't know."

He sits next to her on the couch and wraps an arm around her. She relaxes for a moment and lets her head fall onto his shoulder.

"I can't stop thinking about Josie," she admits, the tiniest quiver discernible in her voice.

He moves the file off her lap and pulls her close for a kiss. Her lips are warm and taste of merlot and she snuggles in closer to him, her hands cupping the back of his neck.

"You'll figure it out," he murmurs when their kiss ends.

She sighs. "I hope so. Honestly, I think she's even worse than you."

"I don't quite know how to take that, but ok."

He hesitates for a moment.

"Jill…I don't think you need to give up just yet on getting her to drop the charges. Littlejohn's a reasonable person. Figure out some way to appeal to her head and not just her heart and it still might work."

A faint light appears in Jill's blue eyes as she grabs her pen and notebook.

"Huh. Thank you for that."

She kisses him again, a quick thank-you peck on the lips.

"Now go to bed. Just because I can't sleep doesn't mean we both need to be exhausted tomorrow."

He obeys. At 3:30 he wakes up, rolls over, and realizes her side of the bed is still empty. He gets up, heads to the living room, and finds her asleep on the sofa, files still on her lap. He thinks about carrying her to bed but doesn't want to wake her so he settles for removing her shoes, gently moving her into a horizontal position, and covering her with a quilt from the bedroom.

When his alarm goes off at 6 he heads out to the living room to find that she's already gone. She's left a note taped to his blender. It reads, "Went in early. Think I've got it. Thanks for the quilt. Love you, Jill."


	2. Chapter 2

Jill pauses for a moment on the steps of the courthouse, turning her face up to the late-afternoon sunlight and allowing a wide smile of triumph to spread across her face. She had done it. It was one of the best possible feelings in the life of a Federal Public Defender, knowing that you had saved a vulnerable defendant from unjust charges and punishment, and she intends to savor every moment of this victory. A few months ago she might have gone out for drinks with co-workers, treated herself to dinner, or called one of her old law-school friends to brag. But today there is only one person she wants to celebrate with and she spots him across Foley Square, briefcase at his side and nose buried in a book. A familiar warmth blossoms in her chest and she quickly crosses the square to meet him.

"Hey!" he says, looking up from the book. "How did it go?"

In answer, she wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him, a deep lingering kiss of the sort that they usually reserve for more private locations. Even though there's no reason for them to hide any longer they both shy away from public displays of affection, finding it unprofessional. But Jill doesn't see anyone familiar nearby and, moreover, she is simply too happy to care.

"I'm guessing that means it went well?" he quips when they finally pull away from each other.

"You guess right." She loops her arm around his as they head toward the subway. "I got her to drop the charges after all."

"Impressive. How did you manage that?"

"I explained that Caleb's the one they really want. He's the one who benefitted – he stashed all the money in an offshore account and Olivia has nothing. He has art world contacts all over the city and if they don't get him on this one it's entirely likely he'll find a way do it again. If they can demonstrate that he took advantage of Olivia in addition to deceiving all of the other people involved, she'll have a much better case against him. Dropping the charges against Olivia will make it easier to show that she was a victim of his greed and indifference to her welfare."

"You're not representing him too, are you?"

Jill sniffs. "No. Caleb got himself the most expensive defense lawyers money can buy. I wish them luck, but he's a piece of work."

"But you'd defend him just as ferociously as Olivia. If he was your client."

She sighs. "I would. I hope I would. But I have to say, I'm glad I don't have to."

"What happens to Olivia?"

"She'll be entering treatment for the delusions as a condition of dropping the charges. She and Caleb have another sister who lives out-of-state. Olivia's going to go stay with her for a while. "

"So a happy ending for her."

"As happy as can be, anyway. In a case like that." Jill sighs, thinking for a moment how lucky that sister is. To know where Olivia is. To be able to get her treatment. Roger, sensing the sudden shadow of sadness falling over her, squeezes her hand comfortingly.

They have reached Chambers Street and miraculously the train pulls in just as they arrive on the platform. Still more miraculously, there are two empty seats and they sink into them gratefully.

"She's an unusual person, Kate Littlejohn." Jill observes.

Roger chuckles. "She's an enigma wrapped in an enigma wrapped in another enigma. But she's one of the smartest, most insightful lawyers I've ever met. "

"I see that." Jill says thoughtfully. "What else do you know about her? Personally?"

"Personally? Not much. Ethical. Disciplined. Workaholic. Organized to the point of neurosis. Enjoys tea and Legos. Dislikes animals."

"Hmmm." Jill ponders for a moment. The new Chief of the Criminal Division was indeed a puzzle. But the pieces were beginning to fall into place.

"Mind if we stop by the toy store on the way home?"

It is later, much later, after a satisfying celebratory dinner and an even more satisfying session of lovemaking that she finally asks him the question she's been thinking about all afternoon. They are lying in bed, her head nestled against his shoulder, and she turns to press a kiss to his neck before asking, "Do you miss it? The SDNY? Is it hard to see someone else doing your job?"

He is silent for a moment.

"Honestly? Sometimes, yes. I know she'll do a good job. But it's hard to let go."

Jill nods, feeling her throat tighten a bit. She'd suspected as much, but it tugged at her heart nonetheless.

"However" he adds, sounding slightly more cheerful, "I can say with complete honestly that I don't miss Delap at all."

Jill giggles at that. "Nothing personal, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't miss you at all either."

Roger smiles and pulls Jill closer, running his hand slowly along the bare skin of her back and sending shivers of pleasure along her spine."

"I can also say with complete honesty that I have never regretted leaving. Not once. "

He rolls to face her and kisses her gently, one hand cupping her face.

'Not once," he says again, and she believes him.

"Thank you for helping me," she murmurs. "I like this. Having you on my side."

He laughs a bit. "I'll never be a public defender. But yes. We're on the same team now.

She snuggles into him, wrapping an arm across his stomach.

"I like that. The same team."

"Team Carlan-Gunn" he suggests. Jill reacts to the hyphenation, raising a suspicious eyebrow, and he laughs.

"That wasn't a proposal! Believe me, I know how you feel about that. Just a team name."

"I guess it could be Team Gunn-Carlan too" Jill says unenthusiastically.

"No. Carlan-Gunn sounds better. "

"Agreed."

"Second only to the Yankees." He smirks, pleased with himself. Jill rolls on top of him, capturing his mouth with hers, and before long the SDNY is the last thing on either of their minds.

The next day Kate returns to her office after a brief lunch break to find a wrapped package sitting on her desk. She opens it warily and finds, to her surprise and delight, a Lego set that she has long coveted but doesn't yet own, a complex replica of the Supreme Court. A card falls out of the package and she picks it up and reads, "Just a belated congratulations on the new position. Looking forward to working together. Jill."

Kate drops the card and leans back in her chair, eying the Lego set suspiciously. She is pleased with the gift but finds it a confusing gesture. Jill Carlan is a mystery to her sometimes, emotional and unreasonable one day, completely rational the next. She resolves to ask Sandra if she can tell her anything that will help her make sense of that woman.


End file.
